Giving and Taking
Two years of my new life in an unfamiliar country, the United States of America, has been difficult yet fulfilling for me. Being a foreign student from Japan, I have been struggling to overcome agonies of difference in cultures and difficulty of learning a new language. Many various people have helped me and gave me encouragement to go through my problems: counselors for international students from Administration office gave me advice to make my school life satisfying, students from Reading and Writing Center gave me great assistance on my English skill, and many individuals on campus supported me throughout my daily life. As I encountered many supportive people, I have learned to give my help to others. Even though I felt a drawback of having problems myself, I started to provide my help for Disabled Student Service as a volunteer and joined Asian American Club to establish a community to help each other among people who were having problems in this new country.
At Disabled Student Service I give people on wheelchair mobility support to go to their classes and help them to get into their cars. I also help their office runs smoothly by delivering mails, organizing their paper works, and getting lunch for them. On the other hand, there are few things which I can not provide; reading and tutoring for the blinds due to my lack of English skill. Nevertheless, my job is indeed satisfying. As I work with disabled people, I realize myself being taking granted how fortunate to have full physical ability, and how important to give my support to someone who don't have what I have.
I also help people who are having the same problems which I have; overcoming cultural differences and learning a new language. I support establishing and maintaining Asian American Club, an organization which mainly consists of Asian students on campus to support each others' problems and expand an Asian community in this white campus. We established A.A.C. in 1995 and it is not yet mature enough to have major activities, however, we are hoping to have study groups, cultural events, and short trips in the near future. In personal level, I help new students to write papers and give advice how to get along with people of different race.
Many people need others' helps in various ways which we don't even imagine. Who would think someone is having hard time just to get a hamburger from a cafeteria or say one small phrase in English? Through my two years of struggles, .........
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